IT service provider Get There from Leek, Groningen, is embarking on a wonderful new chapter in its existence. After 22 years of working on the development of Get There - providing high-quality services such as custom software and data solutions - the three founders of Get There are handing over the leadership and share ownership to a younger generation coming from their own ranks.
New generation at the helm at IT service provider Get There
The new board will consist of current shareholder Nico Kluin as general manager, Niels van Bostelen as commercial director and Frank Hoving as the new technical director. With this change, Niels and Frank have joined as shareholders. Founders Auke van der Meulen (general director), Durk Valk (technical director) and Eric Martens (financial director) are pleased that this strong team will continue the company and are confident of a successful future. In addition, NOM, the investment and development company for the Northern Netherlands, also joined as a shareholder.
Not swallowed up by a large party
Get There has deployed more than 100 professionals to renowned clients in the Northern Netherlands, including CJIB, DUO and RDW. "This generational change ensures that we can guarantee the continuity of the company and the sustainable employability of employees," says Nico Kluin, commercial director and co-shareholder of Get There since 2009. "And that we are therefore not, as we regularly see with other ICT companies, taken over, swallowed up and crumbled by a large party. In addition, Frank and Niels are young, ambitious and have been co-determining the company's direction and vision for quite some time. Together we are like no other able to guard and continue the formula of Get There. Maintaining our independence and offering space to the new generation are important reasons for NOM to become a shareholder and make this management buyout financially possible."
Encourage development of IT professionals
These are extraordinary times for IT service providers like Get There, the entire market is doing well, resulting in a substantial supply of work, with an inversely proportional shortage of professionals. This scarcity makes it more important than ever to connect and grow with a new generation of IT professionals. Get There has always paid attention to the personal development of colleagues through training, education and coaching. The new generation of professionals often needs more than just professional growth. "We see that colleagues like to spend time sparring with each other, helping each other and moving the company forward," says Frank Hoving. "As new management, I see it as our task to stimulate and facilitate that even more because they are part of the whole and steer with us."
Northern Dutch sobriety remains
Get There is a truly northern Dutch company. This is reflected in the northern sobriety; how employees and the customer portfolio are handled. "Our colleagues mostly live in the northern three provinces, deliberately. We don't send our people to the west of the country, for example," Nico Kluin clarifies, "that doesn't suit us. In the north are very nice clients with challenging and high-profile projects. "Get There is one of the few parties that provides knowledge, people and expertise directly to implementing organizations such as CJIB, DUO and RDW," says Niels van Bostelen. "In such environments we have already amply proven our value and will continue to do so unabated in the coming period in numerous challenging projects. For that, we always have room for IT specialists."
